Navajo child will stay in adoptive home

The Arizona Supreme Court denied a petition by the Navajo Nation to review a lower court ruling that says a Navajo child should live with his non-tribal adoptive parents.

The decision means the child, who is almost 3 years old and identified by the court only as "Z," can stay with the only parents he has ever known and won't have to live with a tribal relative he has never met.

"This child deserves to live with the family with whom he has bonded. Since Z's placement in an adoptive home, he has bonded with his family and the courts have agreed that removing him to a tribal relative's home is not in his best interest," said Attorney General Tom Horne.

The Navajo Nation got involved after tribal representatives learned the state had taken custody of the child.